shadows of salem 01 - shadow born by rebecca hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

and down, his mud-brown eyes gleaming with interest as he swung his short legs back and forth over the edge of the can. The guy focused his gaze on my assailant. “Another one, eh?” he asked. “You guys sure seem to be into ‘taking care of business’ lately.”
    “Just shut up and deal with her already,” the guard growled.
    The guy lifted a stubby hand, and wild fear raced through me as I realized that this little man was somehow going to kill me. Something icy burned around my wrists, and a loud crack split the air as my restraints fell away. The guard holding me startled, and he loosened his grip just enough for me to tear myself away.
    “Don’t move!” I shouted, pulling my vampire gun from its holster. I backed away, alternating the barrel of my gun between both men. “I’ll shoot!”
    The guard looked at me as though I were a mild annoyance, and the bald man laughed. “Just what do you think you’re gonna do with that, kid?”
    I hesitated, thrown off by how blasé the two of them were about my gun. Would my bullets even affect them? “You’re both under arrest for assaulting a police officer. Put your hands up.”
    The bald guy shook his head. “It’s no wonder the bossman wants you taken care of,” he said ruefully. “If you’re stupid enough to think that prison cells can hold us, then you don’t belong here.”
    He lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers in my direction. Glowing green sparks drifted from his fingers, and I squeezed the trigger reflexively against the attack. Not exactly the reaction I would have to a human suspect wiggling fingers at me, but I learned a long time ago that you don’t give supernaturals the same courtesy if you want to live.
    “Oww!” The bald man cried as the wooden bullet ripped through his shoulder. His mud-brown eyes flashed an eerie yellow as he slapped his hand against the wound, and I gaped as golden liquid, rather than blood, stained his fingers. “Damn, lady, just what are you? ”
    “I’m pissed, and if you guys don’t give me back my other gun, I’m going to—”
    I stopped and blinked. The bald man was gone, and so was the hulking guard who’d been standing right next to him. What the fuck? They’d just been standing right in front of me! How could they be gone?
    I rushed back inside the building, then skidded to a halt. The kitchen was completely empty. No cooks frying food, no pots and pans hanging from the walls…even the white tile was gone, replaced by stained concrete.
    “No, this isn’t right,” I muttered, pushing my way past the double doors and into the club itself.
    But the place was just as empty as the kitchen. The glossy bar and tables were gone, as were all the patrons. There was nothing here but concrete, dust, and some small piles of refuse.
    I stood there in the middle of the room, completely stunned. I’d never come across anything like this in my life. How had an entire club full of people disappeared between one second and the next?
    Wiping memories from objects was one thing, but wiping an entire place from existence was another. Even the building itself didn’t seem the same…the ceiling was lower, and the mezzanine was completely gone.
    My cellphone rang, and I jumped as the shrill tone echoed in the empty space. Heart hammering, I pulled it out and answered without looking at the caller ID.
    “Brooke Chandler,” I snapped.
    “No need to take that snippy tone with me, Chandler,” Detective Baxter scolded. “I’ve had my hands full dragging that perp back to the station without your help, but I thought I’d call you and let you know that we apprehended the suspect. So if you’re still looking for him, you can go home.”
    “What?” I gripped the cellphone so hard I was surprised my fingers didn’t leave dents in the plastic. “How is that possible? I just saw Vox a couple of minutes ago.”
    “Turns out we had the wrong guy,” Baxter said, and I could hear the shrug in his voice. “Captain